Voyager | Definition, Discoveries, & Facts | Britannica (original) (raw)

Voyager, in space exploration, either of a pair of robotic U.S. interplanetary probes launched to observe and to transmit information to Earth about the giant planets of the outer solar system and the farthest reaches of the Sun’s sphere of influence.

Voyager 2 was launched first, on August 20, 1977; Voyager 1 followed some two weeks later, on September 5. The twin-spacecraft mission took advantage of a rare orbital positioning of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune that permitted a multiplanet tour with relatively low fuel requirements and flight time. The alignment allowed each spacecraft, following a particular trajectory, to use its fall into a planet’s gravitational field to increase its velocity and alter its direction enough to fling it to its next destination. Using this gravity-assist, or slingshot, technique, Voyager 1 swung by Jupiter on March 5, 1979, and then headed for Saturn, which it reached on November 12, 1980. It then adopted a trajectory to take it out of the solar system. Voyager 2 traveled more slowly and on a longer trajectory than its partner. It sped by Jupiter on July 9, 1979, and passed Saturn on August 25, 1981. It then flew past Uranus on January 24, 1986, and Neptune on August 25, 1989, before being hurled toward interstellar space. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited the latter two planets.

Data and photographs collected by the Voyagers’ cameras, magnetometers, and other instruments revealed previously unknown details about each of the giant planets and their moons. For example, close-up images from the spacecraft charted Jupiter’s complex cloud forms, winds, and storm systems and discovered a ring around Jupiter and volcanic activity on its moon Io, the first volcanic activity observed beyond Earth. Saturn’s rings were found to have enigmatic braids, kinks, and spokes and to be accompanied by myriad “ringlets.” At Uranus Voyager 2 discovered a substantial magnetic field around the planet and 10 additional moons. Its flyby of Neptune uncovered three complete rings and six hitherto unknown moons as well as a planetary magnetic field and complex, widely distributed auroras.

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On February 17, 1998, Voyager 1 overtook the space probe Pioneer 10 (launched 1972) to become the most distant human-made object in space. By 2004 both Voyagers were well beyond the orbit of Pluto. In 2012 the Voyagers became the longest-operating spacecraft, having functioned for 35 years and still periodically transmitting data. On August 25, 2012, Voyager 1 became the first space probe to enter interstellar space when it crossed the heliopause, the outer limit of the Sun’s magnetic field and solar wind. Voyager 2 crossed the heliopause on November 5, 2018. The Voyagers were expected to remain operable through 2030. Each craft carried a greeting to any form of extraterrestrial intelligence that might eventually find it. A gold-plated copper phonograph record—accompanied by a cartridge, needle, and symbolic instructions for playing it—contained images and sounds chosen to depict the diversity of life and culture on Earth.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Erik Gregersen.